FRISCO — On a Friday night some time ago, Colorado Division of Wildlife district wildlife manager Shannon Schwab was ready to head home from work when she got a call.
Two teenage girls were distraught about two fledgling magpies that had fallen out of a nest onto the ground.
Schwab attempted to talk them through placing the birds back in their nest, but the girls insisted it was too high for them to reach. So, Schwab arrived on the scene, armed with nothing more than a plastic shopping bag.
Sure enough, the nest was high in the tree, so she scooped the birds into the bag and tucked it into her belt to start climbing.
“I’m winding through these branches, and the branches are scraping my face, and sap is in my hair,” she said.
As she clambered down and brushed her hand across her face, she stopped short.
The birds were back on the ground.
“I barely made it up there alive and back down, and now I’ve got to go back up?” she said, adding that the young girls were thrilled to witness the rescue.
Schwab’s story illustrates the types of scenarios the Division of Wildlife’s local, volunteer Wildlife Transport Team might face during its week on call this summer. She shared the story during a five-hour training held in May for about 18 folks interested in being part of the team or serving as part of the Bear Aware educational force.
Being on the transport team is all about problem-solving and thinking on the spur of the moment, Schwab said.
She admitted that sometimes, even district wildlife managers have no idea how to handle a situation, but they’re quick to use the tools at hand — most commonly durable gloves and a towel or blanket — to do what’s best for the animal and the people nearby.
Ruth Carroll, who’s entering her second year on the Bear Aware team — training for that was also held last weekend — is considering volunteering for Wildlife Transport as well this summer.
She sees a connection between her passion for educating her neighbors in Silverthorne’s Hamilton Creek on living in wildlife’s backyard and getting hands-on in handling wildlife-human interactions.
“They’re typically a nuisance because of us,” she said.
Transport team members carry a dedicated cellphone to field calls that might come to animal control or the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
“Wildlife gets caught because of people all the time,” Schwab said.
“Often, it’s not the wildlife that’s the issue.”
